Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 35602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
I know this means starting a war. But I also know it means ending a chapter that I should have ended a long time ago. My brother has been a thorn in my side since the moment we were born. From the time when we were both kids and I tried my best to protect him and up till now, when I'm still struggling with the fallout of his crazy behavior.
Tallulah doesn't say a word as I gently force her to stand on her feet. I march her out of the dungeons and down the stairs. Her dress, the yellow one she was wearing before she came in here, is in tatters now, her hair matted. I lead her up the stairs and hand her off to one of the women working here, muttering something about getting her back to her normal shape.
She looks terrible. She hasn't had a shower, has barely eaten, her bones are jutting out from under her skin and her complexion is pale, almost translucent. She's never been this thin before, and as much as it pains me to see her that way, I know I didn't have a choice. Tallulah took that away from me when she stabbed me and left me for dead. Now it's up to me to seek revenge on my brother and the girl who broke me. Only then will I be able to dedicate more time to my angel. Truth be told, I still haven't decided what to do with her. Whether or not I should keep her chained and in those dungeons forever, or whether I should bring her back up to the surface to hurt her even more.
But now, as I take some time off, I wonder which decision is the right one. Killing her doesn't seem right. It would be too final and too brief for me to really enjoy it. But there's something else I can do to her. Something that will break her so spectacularly, no one will be able to see her for the innocent girl she was when she came to my mansion for the first time.
Waiting a few hours while the maid gets Tallulah ready, I drag down one of them and ask her if Tallulah has eaten and she shakes her head with worry. She must be hungry. It's been five days since she's had food, though she has drank some water. But I can tell her frail body won't be lasting much longer. This is perfect for my plan. My plan to finally seal the deal and show her I don't give a shit about her. Not anymore.
I get the sign that she's ready for one of the guards, and walk into the room where Tallulah is waiting for me. She would look beautiful if it weren't for her body - so emaciated and skinny, I can almost see through her. She's wearing a gorgeous pink dress, ruffles and lace framing her slender body in a show of health and beauty, but she doesn't look healthy. Even though her makeup has been applied flawlessly by the team here, she's already cried most of it off. Mascara streaks line her cheeks, and as she blinks to the carpet, I notice her lipstick is smeared too.
She runs her hand over her mouth and frustration.
"Why did you put this shit on me?" she demands. "I don't want to be wearing makeup. I'm in mourning."
"What are you in mourning for, angel?" I ask. "Our relationship?"
"I don't give a fuck about our relationship," she tells me directly. "You just showed me how much you hate me and how you never gave a crap about me in the first place. I tried so hard to please you, Xavier but there is no pleasing you, is there? There is no woman out there who would ever be able to completely satisfy you."
With a few quick steps I reach her and grab her chin, my hands forcing her to look at me. She shivers again and I can tell she's afraid of me. But that's of no consequence to me.
"You are supposed to be the one," I tell her. "The one I'd break all my rules for. But you fucked that up spectacularly didn't you, Tallulah? And now you have to pay the price."
She stares at me defiantly, her eyes burning with a blaze I can't identify. But she doesn't say a word.
"Take off your shoes," I demand, pointing to her golden stilettos. "You won't be needing those, you'll be better off without them."
Not objecting, she leans down and unstraps the heels from her feet. She looks almost as good as she used to when she came to the terracotta house for the first time. But her makeup streaks and her merciless damage to her own body tell the story of a girl who has been through too much to be happy ever again.